Temporary Groom: Left At The Altar

by J. S. Scott

  Maybe he was right. Maybe I wasn’t really cold. Maybe I just needed…him.

  I’d gotten up to try to find something that would put me to sleep.

  And then I’d seen Zeke in only a towel, and my mind had strayed to thoughts of releasing it until I could see all of him, touch every inch of him. Once the wicked thoughts had entered my head, I couldn’t get rid of them.

  Zeke was the most perfect specimen of manhood I’d ever laid eyes on, and he was mine. Even if it was only temporary, I couldn’t ignore the sensual temptation of exploring my sexuality with him.

  Just let it happen.

  I relaxed as he let my feet touch the floor in the bedroom, but I kept my arms around him like I was afraid he’d disappear into thin air.

  “I feel like I’ve waited forever for this,” he said, his voice hoarse and unsteady.

  My heart was kicking against my chest wall as I looked up and met his unflinching stare. “Me, too,” I confessed.

  He stepped back and reached for my tank top, and then pulled it over my head. I was bare beneath it, but I didn’t hesitate to lift my arms so he could proceed with getting me naked.

  I was nervous, but for some reason, everything felt so normal, so natural with Zeke. And I needed him to touch me so desperately that I wasn’t afraid.

  “You’re so damn beautiful, Lia,” he said in a deep voice that rolled down my spine, sending electric impulses to every single nerve.

  My breath hitched, and I reached for his towel. “I want to see you,” I answered. “I want to touch you, Zeke.”

  “Not yet,” he said sharply, nudging my hand away as soon as the towel fell to the floor. “If you do that, I won’t be able to focus on what’s really important.”

  I tried to step back so I could see him, but he picked me up way too fast and carried me to the bed.

  “What else could be more important?” I asked breathlessly as my back hit the sheets.

  Zeke came down on top of me, but he didn’t let me take his weight. He put more of it on his powerful arms as he hovered over me. “I want to see you come, Lia. It’s just about the only thing I want right now.”

  His words made me shudder, and I moaned as his mouth covered mine.

  Every bit of suppressed desire leaped from my body and took over my actions.

  I no longer cared about the outcome. All I wanted was Zeke.

  His kiss was ravenous, hungry in a way I’d never experienced before.

  He demanded, and I happily gave, losing myself as I tangled my fingers in his gloriously coarse hair.

  I got drunk on his masculine, musky scent, breathing him in as I tried to absorb his essence into every pore of my skin.

  I was finally touching him, and I’d never felt anything so seductive.

  “Zeke,” I whimpered as he finally released my lips so I could speak.

  “Don’t think about anything, Lia. Just feel,” he commanded, his mouth leaving trails of flame as it moved down my neck.

  I loved the feel of our heated skin pressed together, and I was drunk on the pleasure of my hard nipples abrading against his chest.

  When he pulled away, I nearly begged him to come back.

  Until I felt his hands cupping my breasts, his thumbs circling the hard peaks of my nipples.

  “Yes,” I hissed. “Touch me. Please.”

  I can’t say that he was gentle, his firm touch coaxing every sinful sensation he could get from me. But the last thing I wanted was a tepid fuck.

  If anything, I wanted more.

  My back arched as he took a hard peak in his mouth, his teeth scraping against the sensitive flesh as his other hand continued to manipulate the other nipple.

  When he nipped, I squeaked, and then let out a tremulous sigh as his tongue stroked over the tip he’d just bit.

  The pleasure/pain of the action fueled my need, and I felt moist heat pooling between my thighs.

  Pressure started to build in my lower abdomen, and it started to knot tightly from the pleasure of Zeke’s relentless assault.

  “I need…more,” I said, not caring if I sounded greedy.

  “I’m going to give you everything you need, sweetheart,” he growled as his mouth traveled into the valley between my breasts, and then down to my abdomen.

  He pulled the shorts from my hips, and eased them down as he knelt between my legs.

  Every inch of my skin felt like it was on fire, and my muscles were tense as I waited for him to come over me and fuck me.

  But what I’d expected didn’t happen.

  Instead, he spread my legs wide, and I shivered as the cool air wafted across my vulnerable pussy.

  I moaned as I felt his fingers brush against the pink flesh.

  “You’re so damn wet, Lia. So damn responsive. So hot. I can’t wait to taste you.”

  I startled. I suddenly realized why he was settling between my legs instead of fucking me. “You don’t have to do that,” I said nervously.

  No man had ever put their mouth on me. And I was trembling with anticipation. But Stuart had hated oral sex…unless I was sucking on him. He’d never been willing to do the same to me.

  “I want to. I have to,” Zeke said insistently. “Let me, Lia. I guarantee you’ll like it.”

  All thoughts of protest flew out of my brain as his tongue stroked over the quivering pink flesh. He owned it in one long, satisfying swipe.

  “Oh, shit, Zeke. Oh, my God!” The words left my mouth on a moan, and my hands speared into his hair as I held onto him for dear life.

  He groaned against my flesh, and the vibration almost made me jump out of my skin.

  I flopped back against the pillow and closed my eyes, letting my body just enjoy every sensual sensation.

  I’d never experienced this level of intimacy, this much pure carnal emotion. And I savored it because it was so damn good.

  “Yes,” I moaned. “Please.”

  I felt the knot in my belly begin to loosen.

  Zeke put his hands under my ass and lifted me so he could explore every single inch of my pussy.

  It was both torture and bliss every time he brushed against the small bundle of nerves that needed more attention.

  “Zeke,” I pleaded as I yanked on his hair.

  I yelped when his teeth bit down gently on my clit, gasping as I finally got what I needed, his teeth and tongue playing my body like a violin.

  My climax rolled over me like a freight train. There was no slow build. My orgasm pummeled me as Zeke continued to lap at the juices that spilled from me as I flew over the edge.

  “Oh, my God. Yes!” I screamed as I fisted his hair to keep my body from flying into space.

  When it was over, I was left panting and helpless on the bed as Zeke slowly moved up my body.

  I felt every movement, the connection of our bodies as he moved over me.

  “You taste sweeter than I could have imagined,” he rasped as his face moved into my vision.

  I searched his eyes, but I couldn’t see one inkling of revulsion. In fact, he looked like he’d enjoyed every second of his time between my thighs. And he still looked incredibly hungry.

  I wrapped my arms around his neck as he swooped down to kiss me.

  I tasted Zeke.

  I tasted myself.

  I tasted sinful, wicked pleasure.

  And dammit! It was the sweetest, most delicious thing I’d ever tasted before in my life.

  “Fuck me,” I insisted as he ended the embrace.

  “So demanding,” he said with a hint of humor, though his eyes were so intent that it pinned me to the pillow.

  I wrapped my legs around his waist. “Are you complaining?” I said as I lifted my hips to grind against him, my body ravenous to feel him inside me.

  He reached down and positioned himself as he groaned, “Hell, no. I just want you to feel just as damn desperate as I do.”

  “Mission accomplished,” I said with a strangled sound of need.

  “Thank fuck!” he answered
.

  With one swift, powerful movement, he buried himself to his balls inside me.

  I gasped as he stretched me. It didn’t hurt, but I was hard-pressed to take his length and girth.

  “You’re so big,” I said breathlessly.

  “Are you okay?” His voice was suddenly concerned.

  “If you stop, I’ll never forgive you,” I warned.

  He gently pushed the hair from my face. “This has to be good for you, too, Lia. If it isn’t, there’s no reason to keep going for me.”

  Tears welled up in my eyes as I met his gaze. His blue eyes were liquid and molten. But I could see that he really meant what he said, and it touched a place so deep in my heart that it took me by surprise. “You mean that,” I whispered.

  “Of course I do. I need you with me.”

  I reached up and stroked his clean-shaven jawline. “You’re so amazing, Zeke.”

  He was trying to say that my pleasure was his, and I knew his pleasure was mine. We were so damn connected that it made my heart ache.

  “Right now I’m impatient,” he answered gutturally. “Talk to me, sweetheart. Communicate with me. I have to know that you want this as much as I do.”

  The stretching sensation was no longer uncomfortable, and the need for him to fuck me was almost unbearable.

  “I need you,” I said simply, grinding up against him again.

  “You have me,” he ground out as he pulled back until he was almost out, and then thrust his enormous cock back inside me again with a little more force.

  “Then show me,” I begged. “Because there’s nothing I need more than for you to fuck me like you mean it.”

  “I mean it,” he grunted, and then began to move in a rhythm that left me mindless.

  I moaned, my hands trying to touch every bare inch of his skin as he claimed my body in a way I’d never thought possible.

  I felt him.

  I tasted him.

  I wallowed in Zeke.

  Every thrust a relief and a torment and my body responded to him with sublime gratification.

  I reveled in every stroke of his cock, my hips lifting to receive him every single time.

  My legs tightened around him, and I ground against him every time he buried himself deep.

  “Harder,” I cried. “Please.”

  The feel of Zeke was addictive, and my body greedily wanted everything he had to give me.

  He obliged me by moving hard. Faster. His movements so quick and rapid that I couldn’t keep up. So I just hung on.

  “Come for me, Lia. Let go,” he persuaded and commanded.

  I love you. God, I love you so much.

  I wanted to say the words aloud, but I couldn’t get them out because I was in the throes of another orgasm, a climax that was ripping at my soul as much as it was tearing through my body.

  “Zeke!” I cried out, unable to get another word past my lips.

  My core clenched hard, and spasmed powerfully around his cock.

  “Fuck. Lia,” he groaned as I milked him to his own release.

  He kissed me, and I was speechless by the time we ended the frantic embrace.

  I was a panting, shaking mess when he rolled me on top of him and held me, our bodies slick with sweat.

  It wasn’t like I didn’t want to say something, but I was so stunned that I didn’t know what to say.

  Zeke had just proved to me that I wasn’t the least bit cold.

  I’d just always been with the wrong guys.

  “Okay?” he asked in a deep, throaty voice.

  “Definitely okay,” I answered as I buried my face in his warm neck.

  He stroked a hand over my back in a slow, soothing motion that was almost decadent.

  I moved to his side and cuddled against him, reveling in the feel of his hot, powerful body against mine.

  For the first time in a long time, I felt safe. And I felt wanted.

  As I drifted off to sleep, I felt like I was finally exactly where I belonged.

  CHAPTER 11

  Lia

  It took me until our last day of our trip to realize that I’d always been in love with my best friend.

  After Zeke’s humbling rejection of me on my twenty-first birthday, I’d just never wanted those emotions to see the light of day ever again.

  Any guy I would have ended up with would have been the wrong one, even if he’d treated me better than Stuart had.

  If I wanted to be honest, I’d known for a very long time that I’d never really love anyone but Zeke, but since he hadn’t wanted me, I’d been determined to bury those emotions so deep that they’d never rear their ugly heads again.

  Zeke had proved to me, over and over again, that there was nothing wrong with me. In fact, he seemed to enjoy demonstrating it on every surface of our gorgeous suite.

  Every time he touched me, I became bonded just a little deeper to him, and even though I was scared, I didn’t regret letting it happen. If I was only going to get one shot at being with him for a little while, I was going to take it.

  “You look deep in thought, beautiful,” Zeke said as he came out onto the balcony where I was having my morning coffee.

  I shook my head. “I was just enjoying the view. It’s so beautiful here.”

  We had a glorious room that faced the ocean, and it was calming to wake up to the turquoise-colored Caribbean every day.

  My eyes ran lovingly over his commanding form, wondering if I’d ever get used to the fact that this beautiful man was temporarily mine. His hair was mussed up because he’d just climbed out of bed, but he’d never looked more gorgeous.

  I watched as he poured himself a coffee and sat down at the table with me.

  “How do you manage to look incredibly hot when you just rolled out of bed?” I asked him with a smile.

  He shrugged his strong shoulders as he replied, “Probably the same way you manage to look so beautiful right now.”

  He said the words so sincerely that they flustered me. I reached up and ran a hand through my messy hair. “I have bedhead. You don’t,” I argued.

  “I’m too damn distracted to notice,” he grumbled. “All I can think about is how you look when you come.”

  I laughed. For some reason, Zeke could always throw me off-balance with his blunt comments.

  “Mind out of the gutter, Mr. Conner,” I teased.

  “I guess I’m still disappointed that I woke up without you in my bed,” he answered.

  “Don’t you ever want a reprieve?” I joked.

  “Hell, no,” he said with a grin.

  God, I loved his wicked smile. It made me want to take my clothes off and drag him back to bed.

  But I knew we had plans for the day. We had a full day planned, consisting of swimming in underground caves, and zip-lining.

  “I’m going to miss all this,” I said wistfully. “It’s been so perfect.”

  Being in Playa had been like a fairy tale. It mostly had to do with the man I was visiting here with, but the setting had been…magical.

  Maybe I was afraid that everything would change once we were back in Seattle. It wasn’t like we were going to separate right away, but it was bound to happen once we’d gotten our fill of mind-blowing sex.

  I always knew this was temporary.

  I just wished that knowing all this was happening for a limited time didn’t hurt so much.

  “Nothing is going to change,” Zeke said. “We can still have sex in Seattle. But I’ll miss it here, too. Things will be crazy once we get back.”

  I nodded. “I’d still like to open a second store once I pay you back.”

  “You don’t need to pay me back, Lia. We’re married. What’s mine is yours.”

  Until we aren’t together anymore.

  “I want to,” I argued. “Please.” It was important to me to be able to hand him a check. I’d been giving him installment payments off my profits, but he’d trusted me when he’d turned over that much money to help me achieve my dream. And I
wanted to make good on the loan.

  “If that’s what you feel like you need to do to be happy, I’m not going to stop you,” he said, sounding slightly disappointed.

  “It is,” I confirmed. “If there’s one person in the world I don’t want to let down, it’s you.”

  “You never have, and you never will,” he said huskily. “Come here.”

  His eyes were beckoning, and I couldn’t ignore the temptation. I rose, moved to his chair, and he promptly sat me down onto his lap.

  I put my arms around his solid, massive shoulders to support myself, and his strong arms wrapped tightly around my waist.

  “Thank you for this trip,” I said softly. “It gave me a chance to get my head on straight.”

  “Damn! I thought you were thanking me for all those orgasms.”

  I laughed. “Do you ever think about anything except sex?”

  “When you’re around…no,” he answered bluntly.

  I savored the feel of his body against mine. Just being with him felt so…right.

  Maybe it should have felt weird because we’d been friends for so long. Instead, things actually flowed like a natural progression of our relationship.

  I’d known Zeke for so long that there was very little I didn’t know about him. And vice versa. Adding the sexual element had just made it seem new.

  I tilted my head down to look at him, and my heart skipped a beat as our gazes met and locked.

  There was something incredibly personal about the moment, a message in his stare that I couldn’t quite understand.

  “Are you okay?” I questioned in a shaky voice, unable to stop trying to figure out the silent communication.

  His eyes seemed to suddenly shutter, and the moment was gone. “I’m good.”

  “I guess I should go jump in the shower and get ready to go,” I said, unable to keep the longing I felt out of my tone.

  He let me go as I stood. “Need somebody to wash your back?” he asked hopefully.

  “Pervert,” I accused.

  “Tease,” he shot back in a teasing tone.

  I folded my arms in front of me. “All I said was that I was going to get ready.”

  “Which means you’re planning on taking off those pajamas. Any time you’re getting naked, I want to be there,” he replied.